we're down on the national mall. there's probably about 100 or so folks waiting out here in the cold. we're anticipating about 800,000 here in the mall tomorrow. where are you from? >> new jersey. >> have you ever been to an inauguration before? >> no. >> you brought your son? >> yes, i did. >> why did you want him to be here. >> i want him to be a part of history. >> do you think you're going to get a good spot tomorrow?

>> yes, i do. i'm going to stay out here all night. >> what does it mean to be here? >> it means a lot. it means everything. >> have a good time tomorrow. hope your son enjoys it as well. that's it for us. our coverage starts 9:00 a.m. live tomorrow. we'll be on all day long. hope you join us for that. that's it for us. good night. so help you god. >> so help me god. >> it is official. and now he will do it again. for the people this time. just hours from now an estimated crowd of some 800,000 will gather on the national mall for president obama's public inauguration. stars and stripes, katy perry rocking the red, white and blue at one of the many bashes across the nation's capital last night. and the partying is only getting

started. president obama's biggest challenge in the next four years may be avoiding the second term curse. we'll look at the obstacles that could trip him up, plus an extra helping of history on the steps of the capital. justice sonia sotomayor, the first latino to deliver an inaugural oath. we'll show you the warm moment she shared with joe biden. this was yesterday. we've got an exciting four hours for you. coming up, former secret service agent dan bongino, four years ago he was head of security for president obama's first inauguration parade. representative debbie wasserman schultz at 6:00 a.m., corey booker at 7:00 a.m. along with senator john barrasso and bernice king will join us as well. we also have joaquin castro and also nick cannon. he's performing today for the

inauguration. good morning to you. welcome to a special edition of "early start." it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. i'm zoraida sambolin. live here in washington, d.c. for the inauguration of president barack obama. some folks also gathering here. i will be joined by soledad o'brien and john berman who are still making their way through what is a solid wall of security here. so we begin with president obama making history again. publicly taking the oath of office on martin luther king day to begin his second term as the leader of the free world. it will be his second time taking the oath in 24 hours and his fourth time as president. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> thank you mr. chief justice. thank you so much. thank you, sweetie. >> with the first lady and first daughters looking on, the president made good yesterday on a constitutional requirement that he be sworn in on january 20th. >> so help me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> as did vice president joe

biden who shared a really tender moment with supreme court justice sonia sotomayor, telling her i love you, it is an honor right after taking the oath. to which she responded, i love you. she made history as the first latina to swear in a vice president. between their official swearing in ceremonies, obama and biden met at the tomb of the unknowns, that's at arlington national cemetery. and laid a wreath in honor of american soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. that is a tradition. looking ahead to what's happening today, the first family will start the day with a service at st. john's episcopal church in d.c. at 8:45. president obama will be sworn in a few hours later at 11:55 eastern. he'll give his presidential address at noon. then at 2:35 he'll leave the inaugural parade down pennsylvania avenue ultimately to the white house. and as far as crowds go, it is expected to be a more intimate

affair this time around, if you can call it intimate, some 1.8 million people packed the national mall during president obama's first inauguration. today's crowd is expected to be about half that, 800,000 to 900,000 people. today's pomp and circumstance expected to be peaceful. the fbi says there are no credible corroborated threats to any of the inauguration activities. and a sense of renewed excitement and possibility for a first term, replaced with a sense of familiarity four years later. crowds not expected to be nearly as jam packed this time around. our own christi paul is on the national mall where people are starting to gather. organizers are expecting about half of turnout from 2009. i am simply shocked they are here this early. it's probably a very smart move, right? >> oh, my gosh, you said it. we've been here for about an hour and a half. we thought we'd have to jump a fence just to get in. we decided we didn't want to be arrested. we took the time to walk around and find out how to get in here

legally. i have seen in the last hour and a half more people show up. there's a nice group of national guardsmen here who will be dispersing throughout. i've seen families taking pictures with the national guard. i saw a mom, a young mom here with a couple of kids who, her youngest can't be more than 5 or 6. they're all bundled up. i think it's 35 degrees right now. it's 5:00 in the morning. so you think about how early they got here with those little children who are walking around, the little girl has her hat on, she's carrying her purse, this little 5-year-old. even the people who are here are kind of in a line because they want to make sure that they're keeping tight quarters right now. it's going to be interesting to see how many people do show up and trickle in over the next, you know, hour, hour and a half. 5:00. i asked one of them why did you get here so early? he said we wanted to make sure we got here and got a place to park our feet on the grass and claim our own.

>> that's actually a very smart idea. some folks out there also were playing ball at this hour of the morning. they're all having a good time. >> yes. >> we'll talk to you again soon. thank you. bids 37 degrees in the nation's capital. you remember at president obama's first inauguration it was well below freezing here in washington. it was around 28 degrees. let's go to jennifer delgado, live at the cnn weather center in atlanta with a look at what kind of weather we can expect here today. i have to tell you, we're counting our blessings. we heard it was about to be 23 degrees at this hour. we'll take 37. >> absolutely, zoraida. you're enjoying a heat wave in comparison to what they felt last year. we will see a chance for a few snow flurries to arrive later into the evening. here's your forecast. high temperatures will be above freezing. 39 right near swearing in, 43. and then notice your feel-like temperature will be 37 degrees.

so there will be a bit of a wind around. but for all the parties later on, certainly everybody will need to bundle up. if you think it's going to be cold in washington, d.c., more cold air is on the way and it's going to be arriving from the northern plains as well as the upper midwest. get this, wind chill values will be down to minus 50 in some locations. some of these parts you could endure hypothermia or frostbite within 20 to 30 minutes. you need to bundle up today and put on a lot of layers. that makes you feel better with the temperatures in the 30s. minus 50 degree wind chill. high temperature near minus 5. i feel like i'm doing international weather with celsius. >> i have to tell you, it's super cold. the wind here is pretty strong. folks are coming out here, bundle up. it's a good time. >> stay warm. >> we'll head over to john berman. so john, i dropped you off on my way in this morning.

i expected to see you much earlier. did you have to hop a fence to get through? >> security, as you can imagine, is very tight here. we're still in the process of working our way up to the stage which is way there behind me so we can get into position for the rest of the day. it is chilly but we're warm with america, zoraida. the other thing, we're into the second term here. it is the second term now officially since president obama was sworn into the office officially yesterday. but if you missed any of the first term, we decided to sum it all up for you in just a few minutes. take a look. it starts here, january 20th, 2009, screaming crowds, soaring hopes, towering expectations. what could possibly go wrong? except the inauguration. >> i barack hussein obama do solemnly swear. >> i barack hussein obama.

>> big bailout, big appointment, big smack. >> nice. >> now, where were we? the president gets obama care. vice president gets fresh. kagan in, rahm out, banking reform in, don't ask, don't tell, out. republicans in, democrats out. >> take a shellacking like i did last night. >> 2011. tunisia turmoil, disaster, libya turmoil, bahrain turmoil, egypt turmoil. >> an orderly transition must begin now. >> turns out president was born in america. turns out president can crack a joke. >> i'm releasing my official birth video. ♪ >> that very same weekend, closure. >> the united states has conducted an operation that

killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda. >> now, where were we? >> we were hear, 2012, election year. what could possibly go wrong? ♪ ♪ i'm so in love with you >> how big a deal that the president sings? >> this is a big [ bleep ] deal. >> major developments. >> i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> supreme court holds obama care is constitutional. campaign push. presidential debate. presidential dud. presidential victory. a time to look back at sports teams, disaster, promises kept, most troops out of iraq. sports teams, disaster. upheaval, gadhafi dead. sportsteams, sports teams,

guantanamo still open, disaster, tragedy, ft. hood, tucson. >> our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. >> colorado, newtown. >> for those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory. >> reporter: fiscal debate, fiscal discord. fiscal destiny. sports teams, sports teams, sports teams. >> now, where were we? >> reporter: we were here. just about to start again. >> i bara consider. k h -- i barack hussein obama do solemnly swear. >> he'll take the oath of office again in about seven hours. that's where the ceremonial ceremony will take place. obviously we got further into the system here. security very, very tight here, all over the city, in fact. when we come back we'll talk to the man who was in charge of

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every four years the inauguration parade kicks off the biggest party in town. when the president is the center of the celebration, that means a big logistical challenge, especially along the 1 1/2 mile parade route. former secret service agent dan bongino knows. he's served as an agent under three presidential administrations and he is joining us this morning. thank you so much. >> you're very welcome. >> you had a monumental task. you had 1.8 million people and you had that parade route. how did you go about securing

that? how many months of planning goes into that? >> you know, the inauguration planning for the next inauguration will literally start tomorrow. it's a multiyear task. it's not even months. it's measures in years. you don't secure it as one big chunk. i've said a couple times i've been asked how do you secure the parade route? the answer is you don't, you secure it block by block and make sure the pieces fit together. there's no way to do it all, all viewed in totality and collective. the excitement last time was incredible as well, which added to it. >> there are issues you think about, the weather, the crowd control. what are the other things we don't think about that you have to be concerned about. >> i used to call them the big six, tactical assault, medical emergencyies chem-bio attack. if you have a good mitigation plan on every single square

block of this city, this parade route for those big six and the pieces all fit together you've got a solid plan. >> but what about the moment when they step out of the limousine? >> that was my zone. yes. >> how do you do that? >> your blood pressure goes up. those are the moments the lord invented coffee for. you have to keep your eyes on hands. you have military personnel and police. i emphasize over and over. we have magnetometers. pretend there were none. pretend everybody here is armed. we get paid as the secret service to think about things that may seem ridiculous to you to make sure you don't have to. hands. you can't shoot with your eyes. you need your hands. if you have a cadre of people focusing strictly on hands, you're good. >> it took us forever to get here today. you said it took you a half hour where you were standing outside. for the folks coming here, it really is complicated to get around here, isn't it? >> it is. there's a lot of signage up.

the secret service focused heavily on signage. make sure you're at the appropriate checkpoint and carry as little as possible. >> that's excellent advice. dan bongino, thank you. we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. it's not all about the pomp and circumstance about today's inauguration, we are also wondering what exactly the president will say when he's sworn in. we'll have that, straight ahead. look what mommy is having.

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presidential inauguration is an historic moment and a potential financial opportunity for some as well. emily schmidt has more. >> reporter: an inauguration comes down to this, one hand on the bible, the other raised in an oath. >> do solemnly swear. >> reporter: that's the moment in history which makes so many others try to get their hands on

this. >> how many different ways can you say you support obama. >> reporter: the presidential inaugural committee store is up and running. >> flashy things. >> reporter: ready for shoppers marking the occasion with officially sangsd, made in the usa memorabilia. >> what are you seeing that you like? >> i like everything. and that's my problem, because this being such a historic event i want to have merchandise to share and merchandise that give other people who could not come and visit. >> reporter: it's likely president obama will take the oath of office on a cold january day so people are stocking up on warm sweatshirts and these official hats, even some official blankets. the one thing sold out today, the official tube socks. they're coming in tomorrow but people point out, still available online. washington is preparing for an expected crowd of about 900,000 people. they'll need to eat, so about 100 permits have been issued for food trucks and vendors, down

from the first obama inaugural but three times as many as the second president bush event. in business it's all about location and right here, one block from the white house, it doesn't get much closer to the president. these vendors are preparing for big crowds. they've got 60 of these witness to history t-shirts ready to go. their challenge, they have to sell now, because by monday, day of the inauguration, they'll have to move farther away for security reasons. >> i got the e-mail saying i was selected to be a volunteer, i was excited, ecstatic. >> reporter: sill korea norris will be an inaugural volunteer monday. she hasn't been told yet what she will be doing. she says it doesn't matter. as long as she's there making the same memories others are paying so much to have. >> if i could afford it, i would do it. it's all part of history. >> reporter: members of congress are passing out their allotted tickets to the inaugural swearing in ceremony. the tickets are free and printed with not for sale, however, if

you look on online sites like craigslist and ebay, you'll see tickets for sale going from hundreds to thousands of dollars. emily schmidt, cnn, washington. tonight, the presidential inauguration festivities will continue as cnn takes you live to the inaugural balls. the celebrities, musical acts and a who's who of washington, d.c. that's cnn tonight, live 7:00 eastern. up next, our own john berman takes us on a behind the scenes live tour of the v.i.p. section for today's inauguration of president barack obama. we'll be right back. ♪

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welcome back, everybody. in just a few hours president obama will do it one more time. publicly taking the oath of office as he begins his second term as leader of the free world. he's doing it on today, martin luther king day no less. it will behis second time taking the oath in just 24 hours. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> thank you, mr. chief justice. thank you so much. thank you, sweetie. >> with the first lady and daughters looking on, the president made good on a constitutional requirement that he be sworn in on january 20th as did the vice president, joe biden. >> so help me god. >> so help me god.

>> congratulations. >> thank you. >> looking ahead to what's happening today, president obama will be publicly sworn in at 11:30 a.m. eastern time. he'll then give his presidential address at noon. then later in the afternoon at 2:35, he will lead the inaugural parade from the u.s. capital to the white house. so we expect lots of celebrating, lots of pageantry and some historic firsts. white house correspondent dan lothian is following the day's events for us. all right, dan, lay it out. how's it going to go? >> first of all, i should point out that the president will begin his day here at the white house much like he often begins. he gets up in the morning, will work out at the gym here and then attend his presidential daily briefing with his national security advisers and other top aides here at the white house. he'll sit down for breakfast with his family before heading across the street about 8:45 to st. john's episcopal church, a church the president and his family have attended from time

to time. then as you pointed out will head up to the capitol for the official swearing in ceremony that will take place, where hundreds of thousands of people will be watching. in addition to that, the president and first lady, the vice president and dr. jill biden will also be attending an inaugural lunch up at the capitol. it is capping off a weekend of festivities and inaugural events here in washington. just last night the president and the first lady were at a candle light reception honoring all those who have put in a lot of hard work in making sure that all of these events went off without any problems at all. and the president talked a little bit about the first lady's new hairstyle. take a listen. >> now, first of all, i love michelle obama. and to address the most significant event of this weekend, i love her bangs.

she look goods. >> of course you will get to see those bangs and the various outfits that the first lady will be wearing tonight when the first lady and the president attend the big balls. first of all there's the commander in chief ball and the official inaugural ball that will be taking place later tonight, soledad. >> everybody wants to know what will go with those bangs, what gown will she wear tonight. dan lothian, appreciate that. who exactly are the vips expected to be there? john berman is following some of the big names for us. good morning. >> hi, soledad. i'm standing in front of the capitol. the best real estate there, right behind the podium goes to the families. the president's family and the biden family. there is a number member of the biden family this year, joe biden's family ashley got

married, dr. howard crine. other vip seating includes former presidents. jimmy carter will be there. bill clinton will be here today but there will be no former bush presidents. of course george h.w. bush is recovering from being ill. he's been in the hospital for quite some time. george w. bush decided to stay back in texas, too, although he did send his regrets. the leadership in congress, the joint chiefs. there is one member of the cabinet who will not be here. we don't know who it is yet but it's a so-called designated survivor, the person that stays behind just in case the unimaginable happens. it was then defense secretary robert gates four years ago. we're waiting to see who it is this time around. this is where all the big people will be sitting. they'll file in sometime a little over 9:00 a.m. zoraida? >> i love the view, john. i think you may have the best seat in the house right now. >> not bad. >> thank you very much.

so the washington who's who will no doubt be in full party mode tonight with inaugural events planned around the city, the commander in chief's ball and the inaugural ball will bring out big names like katy perry, brad paisley, stevie wonder and alicia keys. the festivities kicked off yesterday, like the hip hop ball. john legend, eva longoria and swiss beats took to the stage. two lucky girls, brooke baldwin and suzanne malveaux had front row seats. >> i'm brooke baldwin inside a rocking theater. this is the here rose for red, white and blue ball. on stage behind me and the headliner of the whole evening, lynyrd skynyrd. but the real heroes tonight, the men and women inside this

theater, our men and women in uniform. there's a nonprofit group right here in washington called citizens honoring heroes. that's the group that's putting this on tonight, honoring our men and women who each and every day protect this country overseas but really tonight, it's a call to action. wh once these men and women come home, make sure the suicide rate is down, and jobs, making sure our veterans are employed. taking care of ptsd. our message tonight is thank you. >> big events here, one of them, of course, smokey robinson. an amazing concert called let freedom ring celebration. 2,100 people in the opera house. folks have lined up outside for the free concert since 5:00 in the morning, hearing favorites like "my girl" and "america the beautiful."

a tribute to dr. martin luther king and the public service he did and the public service people are doing around the country. another big event to celebrate their voting power, fund-raising power and putting the president back in office for a second term. we saw a lot of notables, celebrities here, had a hans to talk with eva longoria, mario lopez and a very important moment, one that took place for the first time. you had the legendary cheetah rivera, both of them singing together at the same time. it really brought the house down, chita rivera and rita moreno. the vice president was also in the house. people thought perhaps he was not only celebrating an inauguration but perhaps looking forward to a run in 2016. a lot of excitement, a lot of passion here at the kennedy center.

i'm suzanne malveaux. back to you. >> wow. our thanks to suzanne and brooke. soledad, that's what we missed while we were sleeping. >> it looked really, really fun and really, really great. >> it did. >> let's talk about the supreme court justice sonia sotomayor. she'll be taking part in today's ceremonies. yesterday she swore in joe biden at the u.s. naval observatory. she became the first latina to ever deliver an inaugural oath. she'll do it again when she swears in vice president biden this morning during the public ceremony. justice sotomayor told me when she was growing up, she never could have imagined one day she'd play such an important role in american history. your book details a lot of first, first latino in the supreme court, not being the least of them. you will be the first to swear in the vice president, another first for you on sunday. how are you feeling about that? >> i was thinking just a couple

of days ago, if i think back when i was a kid, which of the two events would have seemed more improbable to me, i realized each one was so far fetched that i couldn't have imagined either. >> supreme court. >> supreme court. >> swearing in the vice president. >> supreme court or swearing in the vice president in front of the nation and the world. >> you can see my full interview with justice sonia sotomayor later this morning. that's coming up at 7:00 eastern time on "starting point." so what do the next four years look like for president obama? what will his message be? we'll dig into those possibilities, straight ahead. oh!

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welcome back. we are live from washington this morning. where in just a few hours the country will watch as barack obama's inaugurated for a second term as president of the united states. i want to bring in brett o'donnell. he was the messaging director for john mccain's 2008 presidential campaign. in the last election cycle he worked for both the bachmann and romney campaigns. my first question, how does it feel being a republican right now with all of these democrats surrounding you and are you attending any of the events? >> i actually am. i'm going to the swearing in ceremony. i wish we were inaugurating our candidate. today is about being an american, the peaceful transition of power and unity. i'll watch to listen to the president and see what he has to say. >> the president's first team was marked by a lot of battles with republicans. with congress in particular. and so do you think going into his second term that that will

change? >> well, i hope it does. i hope that the president will begin to move toward the center so that he can work together with republicans to really accomplish the things that the american people really care about, which is turning the economy around, creating jobs and getting the country moving again back toward prosperity. >> i want to play something that david plouffe said, he sounds optimistic about everybody being able to work together. here's what he told cbs. >> there's vast support for investments in education and manufacturing, immigration reform, gun safety. on the issues the president intends to push and focus on, there's massive support in the country, evening amongst republicans. >> so those two words, massive support, i would imagine that yes, there's massive support but the way that they're going to tackle it is very different. would you agree with that? >> yes, that's absolutely correct. the majority of the american public wants us to get the spending under control here in

washington. they want to see prosperity returned. they want jobs to return. it's a question of how we get there. i think that's the place where the president has to move and work with republicans. everybody has to come together and work together to get the agenda moving forward. for the good of the country. >> i want to talk to you about a "washington post" article that's out today. it says obama's or t has a big opportunity to make his mark. he'll be able to solidify his legacy, those key phrases that people are looking for. you are a director of messaging. so what would you be saying to the president, what is that message that he should be sharing today? >> well, inaugural addresses are about two things. they're about vision and they're about unity. and you know, just down the other side of the national mall on the walls of the lincoln memorial are inscribed in my

opinion some of the finest words ever written by abraham lincoln in which he faced a bitterly divided country and was able to deliver an address that aimed at unity, brought the country together. and you know, while the challenges we face are different than those that lincoln faced, they are still formidable for this president. our country is deeply divided. we've been through a divided election, which is a lot like what abraham lincoln went through. the challenge for the president is to bring the country together, sound a vision for the country that is eloquent and will inspire americans to come together and get behind him and get behind our elected leaders to work for the good of the country. >> it's interesting you mention lincoln. a lot of people believe his second inaugural address is the last time we had a strong inaugural address. brett o'donnell, thank you. appreciate that. >> good to be with you. the parade, the parties, the pomp, the circumstance, we'll dig into it all on this special

edition of "early start." stay with us.

welcome back, everybody. let me explain to you where we

are this morning. you're looking at a beautiful shot of the capitol. that's exactly where i am. in fact, earlier you heard john berman bragging about what a great spot he has. he is just above me. i'm actually -- maybe i have a better spot. i'm a little bit lower than john berman which means i'm right above all the 1600 people who have literally have some of the best seats in the house as they take a look looking up into the capitol. the capitol is to my left and behind me. straight ahead of me is where we were reporting from yesterday, the far end of mall which means if you remember four years ago, there were roughly 2 million people or so filling this mall all the way down that direction. so we're at the capital and down there you can see that beautiful shot. that's where we were reporting from yesterday. of course since it's early, early, early in the morning here, not very many folks out yet. we're expecting this will fill up quickly. the night, last night, was a night of stars. the balls, the parties, roland martin is with us this morning,

anna navarro is with us as well. let's talk parties. >> we don't care about the politics. >> yes, you do very much. but let's talk parties right now. anna navarro, where were you. >> at the latino ball. it was rita moreno, chita rivera performing together for the first time. feliciano doing an a cappella rendition of the "star-spangled banner." eva longoria did a great job. she only had one dress on. >> the yellow one. >> yes, the yellow one. >> what did you do last night roland. >> i emceed the african-american church ball where they honored muhammad ali, cicely tyson. it was great. pastor charles jenkins performed

his song "awesome." one night after he won the stellar award for song of the year and choir of the year, and al others. it was a ball room but a church last night. >> it makes all the sense in the world to have the black man and latina who were out until the wee hours of the night here early in the morning. >> one was at home doing home work last night, that would be me. where the president will be sworn in is literally right there. i can't wait. tell me about what you look for overall for the whole day. for me it's the parade. i remember sitting with david gergen last year reporting on it and when the president and first lady got out of the motorcade, they were talking about they didn't think they would.

i thought david gergen was going to pass out. he was so anxious. i'm not being sarcastic or funny. he was so anxious. just petrified until the president got back into the motorcade. he said it was a very important thing to do. what do you look forward to? >> i'm a wonk. i'm going to look for the speech. i love inaugural speeches. i hope that i hear a tone of unity. we've got a very divided country. it's been a lot of drama in the last couple of weeks. i hope we remind everybody we're all in this together, we're all americans. this today is not about the democrat party or the republican party. it's not even about president obama. >> it's a peaceful handover. >> it's about our democracy i come from nicaragua. we've had dictators, refref -- revelations. we've had communists. this celebration, that's what i want to hear. >> i don't care about the politics and speeches, whatever.

i want to see how the first lady will walk out looking with a new hair-do. i had a chance to talk to her hairstylist. >> save that for a minute. we'll talk about the first lady of fashion, the first lady as a trend setter, the first lady and those new bangs that finally her husband even referenced. everybody is waiting on the edge of their seats to see what she'll wear for the ceremony and what she'll wear for the balls. alina cho will give us a taste of that as our special coverage of the inauguration continues right after this short break. cod to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day.

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welcome back, everyone, to washington, d.c., to the stunning west side of the capitol where we've been swearing in our presidents since ronald reagan. of course, for political junkies, the inauguration is about history. for the rest of us, us fashion junkies it's about what they're going to wear, what will michelle obama wear tonight? i probably should say who will she wear? because one appearance on the first lady can make or break a fashion designer. and no one can tell this story for us like alina cho. >> first lady michelle obama. >> reporter: when first lady michelle obama walked out on stage in that memorable white gown by jason woo, overnight the designer became a household name. take me to that moment where she walked out. >> i was like, that's me! >> reporter: who will be the lucky one for years later?

>> it's really brilliant what she's done in keeping it secret, i have to say. in the previous administrations while there was always interest in what the first lady wore there was never a red carpet moment. >> reporter: sources close to the process say what started out as a 20 designer field for the inaugural gown has whittled down to two. two designers, who have a shot at worldwide fame. so who are they? likely a new york-based designer and quite possibly one who is emerging versus established. around thanksgiving designers submit sketches. garments are made. there are fittings and more fittings. the gowns are actually shuttled back and forth between new york and d.c. and because these designers don't have direct access to the first lady, they have mannequins made in her likeness that live in their studios. >> some would compare it to dressing anne hathaway but i'd say it's more like dressing every celebrity at the golden

globes. it's that much exposure. >> reporter: one appearance could be worth $14 million. tally up all of her public appearances, that's a nearly $3 billion boost to the fashion industry. take jason woo. since that moment he's designed everything from a target collection to candles to furniture. but that's business. what will the gown look like? if the past is any guide, mrs. obama, with those famous arms, tends to favor strapless and one-shoulder gowns, fitted at the waist and one color. designers are mindful this piece of clothing is not just an outfit but a piece of history, too. >> you have to describe in this garment what she's feeling. the importance of the moment. >> i felt like betsy ross. >> reporter: this designer gained fame after she dressed the first lady at the swearing in c